It’s important to factor in different perspectives of players as you prepare for your fantasy football draft. We’ll do just that today as Pat Fitzmaurice and Andrew Erickson debate the 2022 fantasy football outlook of Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton.
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The Case for Courtland Sutton
Entering Year 3, it looked like Courtland Sutton was on the cusp of true elite fantasy WR1 production, but his 2020 season was lost due to a torn ACL in Week 2. It was unclear how productive Sutton would be returning from the devastating knee injury.
But to start the 2021 season, the Broncos wide receiver looked like his old self. He averaged 13.8 fantasy points per game (17th) and had a 27% target share in Weeks 2-7 during the regular season.
It wasn’t until Jerry Jeudy’s return from injury that Sutton – and the rest of the Broncos pass catchers – became obsolete in a crowded, run-heavy offense led by a combination of Lock/Teddy Bridgewater. Nevertheless, Sutton finished the season as the fantasy WR46.
However, even in the anemic offense, Sutton still finished seventh in air yards (1,756), cemented in between Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf, in 2021.
Sutton has a real chance to recapture his elite form another year removed from his ACL injury. It also helps substantially that he has received an ultra upgrade at the quarterback position with Denver’s trade for Russell Wilson.
Wilson has always been an elite downfield passer – he had the sixth-highest passer rating on throws of 20-plus air yards last season – which plays heavily into Sutton’s strengths as a vertical threat.
– Andrew Erickson
The Case Against Courtland Sutton
My colleagues Derek Brown and Andrew Erickson will hate me for this, but I can’t get on board with Courtland Sutton at WR21. Yes, Russell Wilson‘s arrival can only mean good things for the Denver passing game. But WRs Jerry Jeudy and Tim Patrick are going to get fed, too, and WR K.J. Hamler and TE Albert Okwuegbunam are among the other talented young Broncos pass catchers vying for Wilson’s attention. Sutton smashed early last season while Jeudy was sidelined by a high-ankle sprain, but then Sutton’s role in the Broncos’ offense went up in a puff of smoke upon Jeudy’s return, even though Jeudy wasn’t doing much himself. It’s not that I can’t envision a solid season for Sutton; it’s that he’s being drafted so aggressively when he didn’t command more than seven targets in any of his last 11 games in 2021. I have Sutton at WR29.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
2022 Consensus Best Ball Rankings
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